Photography

Photography, needless to say- it changed my life. Not only am I passionate about it, I feel it sometimes drives my life in the right direction. Hard to imagine for those that don't take pictures. Other photographers will know what I'm saying.

I'm still an amateur photographer, by far. I still go through my "phases" when I learn a new technique and use it to hell. Usually, it earns some criticism for it being overused. It's alright though- that's all a part of my learning curve.

So anyway, about photography. I first learned on a Canon AE-1, which some of you may know as a pioneering SLR camera. I quickly excelled and began to use DSLR cameras. My first own DSLR camera was a Nikon D100. Not much, but it was what I wanted. I could have easily afforded something more up to date, with a better sensor and such, but I wanted all the "bells and whistles" that the once high-end camera had to offer. All the dials right at my fingertips, which meant no digging through menus to change my ISO or F stop. I learned a lot with that camera, and regret trading it off to fuel another passion of mine- paintball. But that will get its own blog another time.

I started to use a Sony A100 recently. Though it is more of a "prosumer" camera and it doesn't have as many features as others, it does have the same sensor as the Nikon D200 (which is the camera I wanted). Not as good as the newer D300 or the lately released D700, I made do with it. It was a big upgrade, and I was excited. I learned yet another great deal of skills with this camera, most of it being post-processing and shooting in RAW format.

I have a long way to go, and I figure I'll take my time. I see friends who picked up photography before I did with all their gear and equipment. However, when I take a look at their work, I'm able to point out multiple mistakes and ways the shot could have been taken "better." I put better in quotations because it really is all in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, the best example I have of how the gear doesn't make the photographer is my good friend Mace. He is one of the best photographers that I personally know, and he shoots with a Canon XT. It isn't always about the camera body, or even the glass (though that is one of the more important things).

So, I'll just take my time. I'll learn slowly, maybe even take a couple of formal classes. I'll save for a good camera (I'm anticipating the release of the D3) and for some good glass. I'm not even going to attempt to find my own "style" yet, because I have so much more to learn about other things. Hell, I just grasped the concept of composition. I won't watermark or put black borders on my photography, because that's just a sure sign of one using photography for all the wrong reasons.

Oh, and for most of you out there: for all of our sakes, please at least learn how to bracket your shots.